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Brady Corp. is fresh off the largest acquisition in the company’s 99-year history, a $300 million deal for Precision Dynamics Corp., a Valencia, Calif.-based maker of identification products for the health care sector and leisure and entertainment industries.

Brady, the Milwaukee-based provider of signs, labels, die-cut materials and security systems and software, had made relatively little noise in the acquisition arena the past few years, a noticeable shift from its pre-recession streak of 32 deals from 2003, when Frank Jaehnert became chief executive officer, through 2008.

The Business Journal recently sat down with Jaehnert to talk acquisitions, the skills gap and the Super Bowl.

Q: How is the Precision Dynamics integration process going?

A: “So far it’s going well. Everybody’s excited. (Jaehnert holds up a photo of Beyonce Knowles performing during halftime of this month’s Super Bowl.) All those people who were on stage, they had a wristband from Precision Dynamics Corp. So that’s pretty exciting. All of a sudden we are famous.”

Q: Do you see Brady returning to a period of frequent acquisitions?

A: “Certainly we are looking but I don’t think we’ll do anything major in the next half year. That doesn’t mean we don’t keep the targets warm that we have already established a relationship with. But I just think it’s prudent to do a good job integrating (Precision Dynamics).”

Q: Is the skills gap an issue for Brady?

A: “We certainly do have issues but I wouldn’t put this at the top of my list right now of my concerns. We are not in a big hiring mode right now. But we certainly see areas where we would like to hire faster and hire more. It’s not just manufacturing and operators, it’s also professionals, for instance e-commerce skills, digital skills, finding people with special industry knowledge. It’s not a new problem.”